   Feeding Birds During Winter - January 21, 2004 Jeff Schalau, County Director, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County According to the National Audubon Society, nearly one-third of the adult population of North America dispenses about a billion pounds of birdseed each year as well as suet and gourmet “seed cakes”. Bird feeders allow wild birds to expend less energy searching for food and most foods available for purchase have greater nutritional value than wild seeds that may be available. Birds that frequent feeders may also suffer less looses due to predators because they have more time to observe their surroundings. However, these benefits can be somewhat offset by increased exposure to disease, increased collisions with windows, and greater vulnerability to house cats that may lurk near feeding stations. Audubon also says that feeding birds is certainly not as helpful as improving backyard habitat through landscaping, which provides food for a wider variety of birds, as well as shelter, nesting places, and perches. But one thing is certain: Feeding helps close the distance between wild birds and people. The main reason people feed birds is to get them to the feeder for identification and observation. Many styles of feeders are available and each attracts a different group of birds. Ground-feeding tables are screen-bottomed trays that sits several inches off the ground and is useful for helping to keep grain and bird excrement from coming in contact with each other. Some designs have covers to prevent snow from accumulating over the seed; others are surrounded by wire mesh to keep out squirrels and large birds such as crows and grackles. Place the feeder in an open location, at least 10 feet from the nearest shrub, to give birds a chance to flee in the event of a cat attack. Ground feeders are especially favored by doves, juncos, sparrows, towhees, goldfinches, and cardinals. Sunflower-seed tube feeders are the best choice if you are only going to have one feeder. Be sure to select a model with metal ports around the seed dispensers to protect the feeder from nibbling squirrels and house sparrows. Hang the feeder at least five feet off the ground and position it near a window, where you can enjoy the visitors. These feeders are especially attractive to small birds such as chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, goldfinches, siskins, and purple and house finches. Suet Feeders attract titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, wrens, creepers, and warblers. You can hang suet chunks from a tree in an onion bag or a half-inch hardware-cloth basket, or in a more durable cage feeder. You can also make your own suet pudding and feeder. Avoid feeding suet when temperatures climb into the 80-degree range; it turns rancid and drippy and may damage feathers. Thistle feeders are especially designed to dispense niger seed, also known as thistle seed, different from the prickly garden weed-these feeders typically have tiny holes that make the seed available only to small-beaked finches such as goldfinches, redpolls, and pine siskins. Thistle-seed-dispensing bags are not recommended, since squirrels can easily tear holes in them and waste this expensive seed. Hang your thistle feeder from a tree or place it on a five-foot pole near other feeders, taking care to protect it from squirrels with a special baffle. Bird feeding is fun and beneficial to over wintering and migrating birds. Once you start feeding, I hope you enjoy it and learn more about our local birds. All the feeding information was excerpted from Audubon Publications. For more information, visit the National Audubon Society web site at: www.audubon.org The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has publications and information on gardening and pest control. If you have other gardening questions, call the Master Gardener line in the Cottonwood office at 646-9113 ext. 14 or E-mail us at mgardener@verdeonline.com and be sure to include your address and phone number. Find past Backyard Gardener columns or submit column ideas at the Backyard Gardener web site: http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/. |